Daily Press

The New Market Meeting.

The following communication was received at this office today:

Editor Daily Press:

I attended last Thursday night the mass-meeting at New Market school-house, in Wythe district, Elizabeth City county, which was called to elect delegates to the convention that will nominate candidate for the Legislature, and I must say that it was a complete success.

The slate prepared many days before was carried out to a letter. I looked on in disgust.

It was the first time I was ever brought face to face with such a political farce.

As is well known there were two tickets circulated in the district--one called the Causey, the other the Hughes ticket. The names on these tickets were selected behind closed doors a week or more before the meeting at New Market; they were selected for a purpose unknown to the people; their selection was in no way the work of the meeting called to choose delegates to the Portsmouth and Williamsburg conventions.

Free carriages were run to take the voters to the meeting. When nominations were announced by the chair to be in order, the slate already prepared was carried out perfectly. The nominations were made by a select few who occupied places near the chair. After these nominations proceeded a little while some one asked who had been nominated, whereupon the names of those nominated were read out, which corresponded to a letter, as far as had been gone, with the slate. Nominations were then continued until the rest of the slate had been completed.

Some one at this point again asked for the names of those nominated. These were again read from the desk. It was seen by those in charge that the slate was complete and immediately a loud cry went up from those around the chair (who had been doing the nominating) to close the nominations, which was accordingly done, the ticket known as the Causey ticket winning, two of whom I understand did not support Bryan.

Is this Democracy, which boasts of its liberality, which lauds itself as being the party of the people, whose ideal form of government is a government of the people, by the people and for the people?

What does character, patriotism, sobriety, nobleness of purpose count for in a contest like the above?

Would not the man who could command the most dollars, however big a fraud he might be, invariably succeed in electing himself? How can an honorable man give countenance to a course so questionable, so flagrantly wrong, so subversive to the best interests of the people? What more need be done to make us political slaves? Have we not humbly bowed our heads to the wishes of the candidate we have only formally endorsed, what had already been done a week before? Can a man after election to office under such circumstances give credit to the people? No he gives credit to himself only; he congratulates himself that he has beaten his opponents. He feels that it was through his own efforts that he won and owes the people nothing; that he is the master and they the servants.

It is this condition of things that so often leads up to such surprising things that take place in State Legislatures, such as the election of one Thomas Martin to the United States Senate when the people of Virginia expected that the gallant Fitz. Lee would get the place. Are we freemen? If so, then let us not look quietly on and see our liberties bartered away on the altar of ambition by selfish politicians.

A VOTER.

Elizabeth City County, September 1.